The NRL grand final ledger is all square for Cameron Munster, with the Melbourne playmaker desperate to add another tick in the win column in his third title decider.
Just 24, Munster will be lining again next Saturday after tasting defeat by Cronulla in 2016 and a thumping win over North Queensland last season.
"It's crazy. I'm still pinching myself that we're going to be there again," Munster said.
"Being in three grand finals, if you had of asked me that before I started my career at the Storm I would have laughed at you.
"But it's 50 per cent so now I need another win."
Having being on both sides of the result, Munster said last year's title had given him an appetite for more success.
"When you win your first grand final, you just want to keep winning them as it's such a great feeling," he said.
Munster said Melbourne's first-half performance against the Sharks, which resulted in a 20-0 halftime lead, was a benchmark they needed to repeat at ANZ Stadium.
"We just need to do what we did in the first half tonight," Munster said after the preliminary final win.
"We knew that the Sharks would come out hard in the first 15 minutes and they've got a great pack with Matt Prior and Andrew Fifita, and it's hard for teams to get on the front foot at times so we knew we needed to start hard and fast and we did that."
Melbourne haven't had a regular halfback all season, using Brodie Croft, Ryley Jacks and Jahrome Hughes, as they searched for a permanent replacement.
Settling on Croft for the finals series, it was unclear how the youngster, who's played only 15 NRL games, would handle the pressure-cooker Firday's match.
But their blossoming halves partnership stood up to Sharks in-form duo Matt Moylan and Chad Townsend, with Croft even bagging a first-half try.
"He's grown a leg every time he's played with the team and he's shown real initiative and has been really good for us the last few weeks he's played for us," Munster said.
"If he can keep doing that it will go a long way towards us winning the grand final."
Australian Associated Press